Hijinks/

All hijinks... ever

These are projects carried out over the years by the Yes Men and their student and organizational partners.

For a timeline of when and why they occurred, see our timeline (coming soon). For why we did certain actions, and how well we think they succeeded, see our press pages. For the full, gory stories behind actions, take a peek behind the curtain. 

Snowden Pardoned
When Edward Snowden made his first in-person public appearance on U.S. soil since receiving a Presidential pardon, a bi-partisan crowd went wild. Sadly it wasn't true. Read all about it or watch the video.
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Skip Showers for Beef
In drought-ravaged California, producing one pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water. We hit on a way that meat-loving Californians could enjoy their locally-raised cattle products: simply stop showering: a new grassroots moo-vement for…
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Shell's Last Iceberg Snow Cones
Royal Dutch Shell has spent billions on its plans to drill for oil in the Arctic. Despite setbacks, in the spring and summer of 2015, they were ramping up operations to go drill in areas made newly accessible by climate change. To counter the…
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Dog burning fiasco
When the pensions of the London Fire Brigade are threatened by new reforms upping the age of retirement, Russell Brand brings together the Yes Men and local firefighters, one of whom is a childhood friend. Andy decides the ticket to massive…
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
bankparty-1
Party in a bank
The Royal Bank of Canada was funding oil extraction in the Alberta Tar Sands, the hugest climate crime on the planet. We were in Toronto for the premiere of our third movie, and so we decided to throw a party in an RBC branch. (We were inspired by…
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Reed Divests
Graduating Reed College students and their parents gave a standing ovation to an announcement by their commencement speaker that the college had decided to divest from fossil fuels. But the President and Chair of the Board of Trustees, who were…
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Operation Second Thanks
To a dance-ready crowd of security and defense contractors at the Homeland Security Congress in Washington, one "Benedict Waterman"—a crazy-haired, bespectacled official supposedly from the U.S. Department of Energy—announces a revolutionary new…
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Black Pete is beloved, totally racist
In the form of entertaining caricature, black face has been used throughout the Western world to justify slavery, to emphasize white superiority, and to reinforce racial segregation. It has taken many different appearances over the last few hundred…
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
SaveCanada
Update Nov. 18, 2014: TransCanada freaks out, plays dirty In towns across Canada, troupes of mischievous activists, dressed as TransCanada reps (with "SaveCanada" logos instead), successfully derailed the attempts of TransCanada (the company…
Active Dates: -
Reveal Dates:
The Gazprom/Shell Polar Partnership
In 2012, Royal Dutch Shell failed to drill a single hole in the Arctic off the coast of Alaska thanks to a series of dangerous blunders and mismanagement that led to the U.S. government calling the company "screwed up." This year, they trained their…
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Monsanto's Humiliation in Mexico
News flash July 1, 2024: Mexico's GM ban stands!    On August 14, 2013, the St. Louis based biotech corporation, Monsanto Company, released an announcement saying the Mexican government had finally, after months of debate, approved the commercial…
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Deport the Statue
Every year, hundreds of thousands of undocumented people face deportation. Under the Obama administration, the number of deportations has hit record highs. In 2012 alone, the United States deported 409,849 people. In June of 2013, a video, released…
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:

Fake websites

Because a so-called fake website started the Yes Men, we've made dozens more over the years.

These websites represent our opponents more transparently than they ever present themselves — making these true websites, not fake! Also, whereas sinister people use trickery to get outcomes, we reveal hoaxes to mobilize.

Gatt.org
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
McDonalds rtmark
Fake McDonalds "shell"
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Fake Shell shell of RTMark.com
Our first fake website
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
RTMark.com
RTMark.com
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:

Videos

These are videos that reveal actions, are used within actions, or come out of actions.

For standalone shorts, see our movies page.

Somos El Muro
SomosElMuro Video
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Refugreenergy
Refugreenergy reveal video
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Refugreenergy
Refugreenergy: there's gold in their legs
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
DNC Takeback talk and Q&A highlights reel
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
Share the Safety
The Yes Men Share The Safety (2017)
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
TERD
Our bloody Trump mess
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
TERD
Our bloody Trump mess (trailer)
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
TERD
Trump voting machines ad
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
The NRA shares the safety
NRA Shares the Safety "official"
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
ss4b
Moby says: Just skip showers for beef
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
ss4b
Team takes over mic to announce Skip Showers for Beef
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:
ss4b-reveal
Skip Showers for Beef - reveal (Guardian)
Active Dates:
Reveal Dates:

Behind the curtain

These are the secret stories of actions that Yes Men have been a part of—in all their complexity, and not as a movie or press release represented them.

For why we did certain actions, and how well we think they succeeded, see our press pages.  And be sure to check out the lessons we learned from these and other adventures; some might even be useful!

salsburg
The story behind the story of the Yes Men's first project
How technical frolicking led to decades of fun
capt
The story of the Yes Men's first impersonation

Fake press releases

These are fake press releases used in our actions.

Note: we always reveal our fakes in short order — and that's what distinguishes these from the bad kind of fakes. For why we did certain actions, and how well we think they succeeded, see our press pages.

Second fake release (ERRATA)
ERRATA     An earlier email from the Washington Post erroneously stated that President Trump has departed the Oval Office. We stand corrected (by ourselves, as well as dozens of Twitter users). This event in fact occurred three months and a half from now, possibly. Sadly, many thousand print copies of the Post, hurriedly assembled in the wee…
Associated Hijinks: Trump is over - if you want it
First fake release (BREAKING)
BREAKING     The Washington Post has learned that at 5:15 a.m. today, Michael Richard Pence was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. It would seem that shortly before — perhaps at 3:15am, when a private helicopter was recorded departing the White House area — Donald John Trump abandoned the office of the President. May 1,…
Associated Hijinks: Trump is over - if you want it
Refugreenergy fake announcement
Download this press release and more here REFUGREENERGY Launches in Brussels: Migrants Legitimized as Power Source FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 3rd, 2017 (BRUSSELS) REFUGREENERGY, a green energy startup utilizing the power of refugees to fight climate change, successfully launched its public campaign in partnership with the city of Brussels on Saturday, September 30th, 2017. Outside of la…
Associated Hijinks: RefuGreenergy
#DNCTakeBack announcement
DNC LAUNCHES #DNCTakeBack TOWN HALLS TO HIGHLIGHT UNSEEN ASPECTS OF "BETTER DEAL" Medicare for all, tuition-free college, strong unions, and the end of corporate lobbying are among the progressive positions largely missed in last Monday's announcement. Join the conversation on Twitter at #DNCTakeBack Official announcement video (longer highlights video coming tomorrow) Announcement…
Associated Hijinks: DNC Takeback
Fake press announcement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov. 9, 2016 New Voting Machine Launched Sabotage Foiled at Trump Soho Hotel New York - An attempt to sabotage the launch of President-Elect Donald Trump’s new voting machine company was narrowly averted due to quick-witted security guards and bystanders.  "This morning’s event was a wonderful way to launch the new President’s voting machine in style," said Chase Holbrook…
Associated Hijinks: Trump Election Reporting Devices
The "NRA" denounces the activists
NRA Denounces "Arm Everyone" Hoax On June 22, an unidentified group of anti-gun "activists" sent out a fake press release claiming that the National Rifle Association was partnering with Smith & Wesson to distribute guns to inner-city victims of police violence, as a first step towards arming everyone in America. This claim is completely fraudulent, as is the accompanying website, www.…
Associated Hijinks: NRA Shares the Safety
NRA shares the safety with the media
NRA and Smith & Wesson Partner to "Share the Safety" Fairfax, Va.— American cities are hotbeds of crime, from gang violence to police brutality, but a major part of the problem is that the most vulnerable populations cannot afford to defend themselves. A new program from the National Rifle Association, in partnership with Smith & Wesson, seeks to change that. Share the Safety is a…
Associated Hijinks: NRA Shares the Safety
UN celebrates "420"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   UNODC Unveils Historic "4/20" Policy Redirect at UNGASS 2016   NEW YORK, 19 April 2016 - On the first day of the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) announced that they will adopt extensive reforms to their decision-making processes and encourage evidence-based drug policy that…
Associated Hijinks: UN Ends the War on Drugs
"UN" kills the buzz
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   United Nations Denounces “4/20” Hoax Press Release UN urges pot smokers to opt out of drug violence by home growing   NEW YORK - A hoax press release was sent out from the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) yesterday claiming that the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem had been scheduled for April 19-21 in order to…
Associated Hijinks: UN Ends the War on Drugs
Beef lovers find novel ways to keep up their lifestyle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Saving Water Can Be Savory Beef lovers find novel ways to combat drought in California (Los Angeles, CA) A growing number of California meat aficionados have found a sustainable way to consume locally-raised cattle products despite growing concern about the large water requirements of beef production in this drought-stricken State…
Associated Hijinks: Skip Showers for Beef
"Charred-dog" hoax is insult to senior firefighters
Press Release Eric Pickles condemns "charred-dog" hoax as insult to senior firefighters From: Department for Communities and Local Government and The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP First published: 26 March 2015. Online version here. Part of: Firefighting Training Standards and Fire Brigades Reform Secretary of State calls for legal action against perpetrators of…
Associated Hijinks: Dog burning fiasco
Divestment Announcement Is a Fake
Deplorable Prank Announcement Untrue FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Portland, Ore (May 19, 2014) -- A press release distributed by an unknown party and an announcement by the 2014 commencement speaker, both released today, contained false information regarding Reed College's divestment from fossil fuels. Reed College is not divesting from fossil fuels, nor does it intend to in the foreseeable future. "…
Associated Hijinks: Reed Divests